This invention relates generally to intraluminal devices used in medical interventional procedures, and in particular to vascular interventions.
Intraluminal devices, e.g., guide wires, are steered through body passages such as arteries or veins by shaping the wire and then manipulating the proximal end of the wire while pushing the wire through the passage. Often, the wires are manipulated under x-ray visualization. By rotating the proximal end of the wire, the shape formed in the distal end changes orientation allowing the operator to select directions, especially where the vessel divides into multiple paths.
Being able to shape the guide wire, especially its distal end, is important to the effectiveness of the particular guide wire as an intervention tool. Operators have a strong preference to form their own shape in the wire, often customizing the wire to the specific anatomy through which the guide wire is being navigated.
Guide wires are described extensively in the art. Most of the guide wires are designed around a central core element with a wire or ribbon of material wrapped around the central core. The core imparts many of the mechanical properties of the wire and is generally responsible for allowing the guide wire to be shaped. These guide wires are typically shaped by imparting plastic deformation to the core which retains this deformation during use of the guide wire.
For most interventional procedures the guide wire acts as a rail to allow other devices, such as angioplasty balloons and stents, to be placed precisely in a vessel. However, guide wires themselves have evolved to be therapeutic devices. For example, balloons or wire meshes have been placed within the guide wire structure to become distal embolic protection devices during interventions. Guide wires also have been used to conduct radio frequency energy to ablate tissue.
Often, the central core of the guide wire has to be removed or eliminated to allow other functional elements to be added to the wire while minimizing the profile of the guide wire so it can be advanced into smaller body vessels. Such guide wires include, but are not limited to, infusion guide wires capable of delivering drugs or therapeutic materials such as embolic agents; guide wires with removable central cores; hollow core wires for pressure measurements; and guide wires that have optical fibers to visualize or deliver light energy.